This invention relates generally to golf bags and, in particular, to a golf bag having a longitudinal stay and a retainer clip therefor.
Many golf bags have tubular bodies held in their desired shape by a liner formed of a suitable plastic which is enclosed within a fabric outer wall. Other golf bags referred to as xe2x80x9ccarry bagsxe2x80x9d, due to their light weight, are often formed with tubular fabric bodies that are held in their desired shape by at least one stay or strut which extends longitudinally from the open top end of the body to the closed bottom end thereof. In some carry bags, there are several stays circumferentially spaced about the tubular body with their opposite ends attached to the open top end and the closed bottom end of the body. In both of these prior types of golf bags, i.e. the golf bags with the plastic liners and the golf bags with the stays, there are drawbacks when shipping the golf bags from a manufacturing facility to a retail outlet and when repairing damaged golf bags. Both the plastic liners and the stays are fixed in place when the golf bags are manufactured and, therefore, the golf bags cannot be collapsed or otherwise reduced in size for shipping. If the stays of a golf bag become bent or broken, repair is difficult and often the golf bag must be disassembled to accomplish the needed repair.
The drawbacks of the above-described prior types of golf bags are overcome in golf bags with removable stays. These golf bags may be shipped in a collapsed condition and then the removable stays may be inserted upon arrival of the golf bags at their destination. Also, repair of bent or broken stays is easier because the bent or broken stays may be removed without disassembling the golf bags. However, removable stays are difficult to install and remove without damaging them or the golf bags.
The difficulty with installing and removing the removable stays results from the manner in which they are held in position within a golf bag and their placement therein. A suitable pocket is formed adjacent the closed bottom end of the golf bag body. The lower end of the stay is disposed within the pocket while the upper end of the stay is held in a blind socket formed in the open top end of the golf bag body. In addition, the removable stay usually extends through a fabric sleeve inside the golf bag body. Since the distance between the pocket and the blind socket is equal to the length of the stay, the stay must be bent for installation and removal. However, such bending of the stay is difficult because the stay extends through the sleeve.
A golf bag includes a generally tubular body having an open top end a closed bottom end. A throat structure is disposed in the open top end of the body. The throat structure has an opening formed longitudinally therethrough which is divided into an open portion and an offset portion which is closed at its upper end and laterally disposed relative to the open portion. An elongated stay extends into the throat structure and is located in a longitudinal position inside the tubular body. The stay has an upper end movable in the throat structure opening between the open portion and the offset portion thereof A retainer clip is removably mounted in the throat structure opening for retaining the upper end of the stay in the offset portion thereof. When the retainer clip is removed from the throat structure opening, the upper end of the stay is allowed to be moved between the open portion and the offset portion thereof.
In the preferred embodiment of the golf bag, the throat structure has an outer wall, an inner wall and a pair of side walls which together define the throat structure opening. The throat structure also has a ledge extending from the outer wall into the throat structure opening to divide the opening into the open portion and the offset portion and to close the upper end of the offset portion. The ledge is located below a top surface of the throat structure to provide a recessed seat at a top end of the throat structure opening. The retainer clip includes a pedestal shaped to fit within the recessed seat at the top end of the throat structure opening, a fixed leg depending from the pedestal for retaining the upper end of the stay in the offset portion of the throat structure opening, and a spring leg depending from the pedestal in spaced relationship with respect to the fixed leg. This spring leg is deflected toward the fixed leg by the inner wall which partially defines the throat structure opening.